It is the twenty first century, though no matter how much technology you put into the hands of your business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) clients, we cannot ignore the tremendous value of the human element in driving results. Financial services remains a people business.
Over the course of time we’ve seen human interaction for day-to-day transactions become unnecessary. Transactions such as trading, cashiering, research and the like have all become automated. Regardless of these developments, there is no substitute for having a live, knowledgeable person to contact when you need to fill the gaps in a process or when things inevitably do not go quite as you expected.
The true value of service is how well a service provider reacts to an issue when it arises. And the way a support platform or help desk responds when an anomaly occurs is the true measure for the quality of an institution.
Great service will always win.
Machines cannot make subjective business decisions based on history, or based on the future potential of a client to build relationships. People need direct interaction to properly resolve the extraordinarily complex situations this industry can (and does) encounter.
At one point in my career I ran a highly successful platform for startup and mid-sized broker-dealers and registered investment advisors (RIAs). The key to the success of that platform was the human element. Nothing replaces a knowledgeable person who is willing to help when something unprecedented occurs, a new business direction warrants discussion, or a new-found product line is launched.
Human intelligence is invaluable. The experience and expertise of the service provider can help a client avoid the mistakes he or she has seen others make (which could be costly or even fatal to an entrepreneur’s lifework). This is all part of the service deliverable which benefits any client on any platform.
Communication is critical. It must be timely, come from a knowledgeable source, and be honest. The ability to receive rapid, efficient, and competent responses to transactions, inquiries and problems is invaluable to any client.
Even if the commitment to great service comes at a premium, it will pay for itself in the long run. The question service providers need to ask themselves is “Do you work for yourself and your own career, or do you work for your clients?” If you work for and serve your clients, the rest will take care of itself.
People make the difference. Problems these days can be heavily complex and impossible to get sorted out over email or in a chat room. Regardless of how much technology is introduced into our industry, people are required for problem resolution, fostering relationships, maintaining compliance, delivering business continuity, and cultivating innovation.
Ours is a relationship business.
At ViewTrade we believe that specialized support and service always delivers more value than a lowest cost provider. We’ve created an infrastructure to help banks, brokerage firms and fintech companies around the world navigate complex business decisions. With subject matter experts in local markets, client support in more than a dozen languages, and white-labeled, language-specific platforms, we pride ourselves on delivering stellar service. We deliver service excellence so those businesses we support can deliver the same service standard to their own clients.
Contact us to learn more how we can support your firm too.
